Talk to me about Kiddy car seats please!

[saoirse86]

I have a maxi cosi mobi in my car and I'm very happy with it. However it is pretty big and won't fit in DP's car or my mum's car and probably lots of other cars too.

So I'm looking for something that requires less space length ways and width ways (the back of my mum's car is very narrow and already has my niece's Klippan Kiss seat in it) and can easily be moved between cars.

I was looking at these Kiddy car seats and there's a local shop that has the Infinity, Comfort and Guardian available much cheaper than RRP so I was thinking of buying one before they sell out. I had thought they were quite safe with the impact cushion but have now just read about children pushing the cushion forward and wriggling out. My DD is 11 months and quite big at the moment (although I know that doesn't necessarily mean she'll stay big). Is it likely she'll be safer as she's not a skinny minny so won't be able to get out easily or is that not necessarily the case?

Should I just get one and always keep an eye on her, then if she does try to escape one day then just stop using it? She actually is unlikely to be in it very often so may not get the chance to work it out IYSWIM.

So what should I do?

The only thing I know about them is that they're meant to fit practically all cars, but they don't fit our car so do try to get it fitted and checked rather than buying online.

I couldn't have a Kiddy in my car because the seat belts weren't long enough, but if your car can fit the mobi it must have quite long belts, the mobi wouldn't fit into my car either.

I've got one, very pleased with it. DS is 2.2 and has never managed to push the cushion or wriggle out - if you have the belt properly tight this would be very very difficult to do i would think!

DS sleeps in his a lot and rests head on arms on cushion so no lolling neck, looks pretty comfy. I like the fact it is easy to get in and out of different cars BUT one of mg friends had quite an old peugeot and it was a bit of a struggle with that as belt only just long enough. If you can try one in the shop I would do so!

Good toy strap attachment on the cushion as well.

It's not for my car, it's for DP's car and my mum's car, and possibly other cars too. She doesn't go in other cars apart from mine often and at the moment I just use her maxi cosi cabrio as she's about 10kg. Do you think that if a belt fits around the maxi cosi then it'll fit around the kiddy too? As much as I'd like to coordinate every member of my family to take a trip there, I don't think they'd be too impressed. DP says if I buy another car seat or pushchair he'll leave me, so I have to sneak this one in along with the new pushchair!

DrK The way the seat belt goes on the mobi I thought that would never be an issue for a car, I thought it's just be the size of the actual seat. Your belts must be crazily short. Do you have to be less than a size 10 to be able to go in your car?!

Grumpla I thought those toy strap things were genius! I was going to ask as well, how does the recline work? I'm a bit confused, it just seems like you kind of bring the seat forwards to let the back fall further back IYSWIM. Is that it?

saoiress86 the belt thing is misleading. We've got the CabrioFix and we've got the EasyFix base, but we don't always use the base. The CabrioFix fits fine into our Saab back seats both with or without the base, but not one group 1 Kiddy would fit the seatbelts.

I really think you have to get the fit checked in every car, I'm sorry it's a PITA, but if the fit isn't right your child isn't safe. I wish I'd had my MaxiCosi checked in BOTH our cars, not just the Saab because I cried my eyes out yesterday when I realised it has never been safe in my Citroen. If I'd had an accident my daughter could have found herself loose and flying through the window. I really thought I knew enough. I really thought it was fine. I was wrong. I am lucky I didn't have an accident.

I did question wether this was all a bit silly and over the top because the MaxiCosi looks alright to me in my car... The friend I phoned is a paramedic. He said it's not paranoia, he's seen it happen and it's not pretty.

Please get whatever you use checked in every car it's in. It's totally frustrating, I do understand, but you can't replace your children if you break them.

we have the kiddy and used it on dd3 who has just turned 1, she was very happy in it and fell asleep very easily in it.
dd2 also uses it, she is 3 and 15kg and she likes the cushion and flops onto that as well,
We used it on a minibus which was a tight fit with the seatbelt but then again there wasn't much room for me. If your seatbelts fit a large person, size 22ish then they will probably fit the kiddy. They are very easy to check fit wise as you just put the seatbelt through the impact cushion, no fiddly slots to mess with

the recline thing is like a little flap under the seat and you just unfold it so it sits at the crease of the seat and the car seat is reclined. It is far easier to do then i just made it sound

Hi Debs! That makes far more sense than just perching it further along. I'm going back to have another look so I'll know what I'm doing with it this time (the staff don't have a clue!).

I know these are incredibly simple to install which is another reason why I'm leaning towards getting one. I'd like to know that when other people are installing it in their car that there's less chance of getting it wrong. This is partly after FIL once (after several times of me showing him how to do it properly) tried to put DD's stage 0 seat in the car forward facing with the seat belt just strapped around it. Seriously need an idiot proof seat!

We have the Kiddy Comfort. Has been used in a very wide variety of different cars and the seatbelt has always been long enough to stretch round the impact cushion.

It's a really good seat imo - highly recommended!

I have the Infinity, really rate it. I have heard about the escaping too but I think it's rare - certainly a lot rarer than DCs being able to slip their arms out of straps and escape that way. DS is fairly skinny and he can't escape, he does push it a bit when he is impatient to get out, but he's never got the angle right to escape. It's fitted in every car I've tried it in (I don't drive). It's fairly idiot proof but you might have to drum into FIL that both parts of the seatbelt need to be threaded through the impact shield, not just the lap part. Though the shoulder part would likely be over the child's face if you didn't, so fairly easy to remember.

I'd buy it at the cheap price but keep using the cabriofix for as long as possible though. Rear facing is safest if possible. After that I'd definitely recommend the Kiddy too. If your DD is tall then it might be a good investment to get one of the group 1-2 ones, as a problem with harnessed 1-2 seats is that DCs outgrow the slots for the harness before they reach the maximium weight to be harnessed - you wouldn't get this in the kiddy seats, so you could keep using the impact shield until 18kg.

That's a good point Bertie. DD's not tall, probably average for her age, but the slots in her Mobi are surprisingly low and I wouldn't be surprised if she gets too tall for it before she's 25kg.

Off to have another look now...